Day 323 - DevinFest 2010

Today Jaco & I went to Brooks for DevinFest. What's that you ask? Well, DevinFest is a day of family fun, a fundraiser & a tribute to a really amazing young man. Devin is the brother of my best friend, Collet. Devin passed away two years ago from a brain tumour that he battled for most of his teenage years & all of his adult life. He was 25 years young when he passed away. I never had the chance to get to know Devin like so many others did, but what I do know is that he was an incredible individual. I was amazed to hear the stories at his funeral about his positivity, his determination to survive & his gentle, passionate, fun loving ways of living life. A true tragedy & nothing can replace the empty space where he used to fill up so many lives. 


His parents decided to have a celebration of his life each year & raise money for local students wanting to pursue music or arts. They have a silent auction, dancing, activities for kids, live music for adults only in the evenings - a lot of hard work goes into organizing the day's events. 


Jaco & I decided we would go for the afternoon, as I didn't want to be traveling home late at night. We arrived just past 1600, of course, only after a near death experience from a driver backing out of his parking spot on the side street. I seriously saw my life flash before my eyes! 


We took the little dogs with us. Last time we visited Dave & Collet, Ezra was CRUSHED to find out that 'Nini' wasn't with us. I was crushed to see the disappointment on his face! So, along came the dogs! He was quite happy to play ball with Valentina, although it was a bit of a nightmare with Valentina on a leash & a 2 1/2 year old throwing the ball! (Add in tables, chairs & people everywhere!) 


We visited with Dave & Collet & checked up on little Zeke. He's changed a lot already! We had a nice chat with Collet's Mom & Dad. They are truly wonderful people - Collet is very blessed to have such amazing parents. 


While the dancing was happening, Jaco got to visiting with Collet's Mom's friend, Jacqui, who is a Nurse at the local hospital. She offered to walk Jaco over to the hospital (a few blocks away) & introduce Jaco to one of the South African Doctors on call. Away we went. I think Jacqui was hoping to recruit Jaco to Brooks. No comment. In any case, Jaco had a great chat with Dr. DeWitt. He seems to be enjoying life in Brooks. It was fun for me to hear the Afrikaans accent again, and Jaco enjoyed the 'inside' information on applying for work in Canada.


We left Brooks around 2000. Here's to you Devin! 


xxxx MJV&O

Dancers from In-Sequins & Tweet Pea madly searching for her ball!

Dave, Collet, Ezra, Zeke & Peggy & Chris

Awesome little bunch of Michael Jackson dudes!

The guy on the left was my favourite - he had SOUL!

The Rec Centre had beautiful flowers all around the building.

Jaco gets the inside track from Jacqui

Collet gets her DC tattoo from Chelsea of Licious Lines (DC are Devin's initials & also one of his favourite brands)

Wow! Crazy talent! Chelsea also airbrushed a guitar for the silent auction.

The finished product!

Three generations & a whole lotta good looks! Aren't they beautiful girls!?

Today was the black wig - Lara Croft style.

No backseat drivers here. Oceana was insisting we turn left.